PO Box 432 Wasaga Beach, ON L0L 2P0 Phone: 705-429-0901 Fax: 705-429-9809 Toll Free 1-866-228-8824 office@multiplebirthscanada.org www.multiplebirthscanada.org
2004 Annual Report
Supporting Multiple Births
“At Multiple Births Canada, each contribution no matter how simple or complex is important. When all the contributions are considered as a whole, the benefits to Canadian families are phenomenal.”
Linda G. Leonard is an Associate Professor (E.) and Multiple Births Specialist from the UBC School of Nursing, operates the Multiple Births Support Program, and is a Multiple Births Canada Advisory Board member.
Together for Over 25 Years
Photograph by Amber Richmond, Ontario
Message From The Board
Multiple Births Canada continues to move forward with over 25 years of experience supporting multiple-birth individuals and families, and this past year, we moved forward under the Transitional Plan developed in 2003. For more details on the outcomes of the first year of the Transitional Plan see page 4. Unfortunately, attempts for funding through Bell Canada and through the Trillium Foundation failed. However, the 2004 Conference Committee was successful in obtaining a substantial grant from Trillium to cover the costs of the speakers and to promote MBC and the conference in the northern regions of Ontario. Our congratulations to Temiskaming Multiple Births for their hard work and dedication! Plans are under way to revisit another application to Trillium to be submitted in early fall based on the recommendations of Trillium Staff. The AGM and Conference held last year in Ottawa was the first conference to include a component specifically designed for professionals with an interest in multiple-birth issues. Congratulations to Multiple Birth Families Association (Ottawa) for all of the work that went into making the 2003 AGM and Conference a success. We’ve completed our first full year under the new membership structure and fee system. As a result of the increase in fees, we lost a small number of chapters, as expected. We also welcomed a new Chapter in Sault Ste Marie, with 2 additional chapters in the process of forming. MBC continues to stand strong in the belief that in order to be successful in our mission “To improve the quality of life for multiple birth individuals and their families in Canada,” the multiple birth community must come together as a unified force to make change. The newly created MBC Training, Orientation and Discussion Forum sites, funded by the Ministry of CitizenshipVolunteer @ction Online Program was one of the initiatives in 2003/2004. In addition, work continues on redesigning the MBC web site and integrating it with the V@O websites, and we are excited to announce the launching of all sites at this year’s AGM and Conference. The Mapping the Future Project was completed in 2003 with the production and distribution of Multiple Births Canada’s Chapter Handbook and Operating Guidelines to all chapters, as well as the Professional Stakeholder’s Package. Additional highlights of this past year can be found throughout the pages of this Annual Report. None of the achievements of this past year would have been possible without the many hard working and dedicated volunteers who work daily to support multiple-birth individuals and families across Canada. The needs of these individuals and families are what drive the volunteers, at both the local and national levels, to strive for more. We continue to hope that the multiple birth community will grow, not only by increasing awareness of multiple birth issues, but in spirit, togetherness and by becoming stronger in its determination to make a difference for generations to follow. Our sincerest appreciation goes to all MBC Supporters! Without you and your kindness, generosity and words of encouragement, volunteering for Multiple Births Canada would not be the same.
“If there had been no local chapter, no national support, and no networking to get me started as a new mom of multiples, I would have been alone in a world that was foreign to me. I believe that it’s our responsibility to be around in the future, to guide and support all new parents of multiples as they begin their own personal and unique journeys because we understand it best.”
Gail Moore is the Co-Chair of the 2004 National Conference. Her fraternal boys, Zachary and Jeremy, are now 11 years old. She has two older children, Chris 17 and Sarah 15, an Airedale Terrier named Cosmo, and a husband, Rory, who has become a good cook in the past two years! 1
Kimberley Weatherall, Vice-Chair Director of Volunteer Management On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Business Services Manager
2004 Web Site Launch
The newly redesigned web site will be launched during the 2004 Conference. Webcanvas.ca has been working hard to create our new web portal with Board members, Network Chairs and others, graciously revamping and updating individual pages of the site. Webcanvas.ca will also be integrating the newly created Volunteer Training web site into the redesigned Multiple Births Canada web site. The addition of e-commerce to the web site last year has proven quite successful and we are looking forward to increased revenues with the launch of the redesigned website and the increased traffic that will be sure to follow. In 2003, the following new sections were added – Making A Difference Awards past winners, Life With Multiples articles and 28 Years of Conference History!
Business Office
The Business Office continues to be very active and operates as a clearinghouse – filtering information and assisting multiple-birth families, members, chapter executives, volunteers, the Board of Directors, health organizations and the media by answering questions, offering referrals and providing resources. A large number of calls and inquiries come from parents seeking support and resources, as well as referrals to their local chapter or non-member chapter contact. Publications sales/orders and Direct Family Memberships have increased due to online sales capabilities.
Vicki Riley Business Services Manager
Maintaining the database and processing the membership renewals is a huge task, particularly in the first four months of the new year. This year, the Business Office received some assistance with this task from a student working on required community hours. The standard responsibilities of the Business Office are presently taking between 35 and 45 hours a week.
MBC Resources
MBC’s publications continue to expand with five new fact sheets added to this exceptional series in the past year. On-line sales have been steady. Multiple Moments’ subscriptions are available for purchase on-line or by mail in print and electronic format. Subscriptions continue to decrease via Affiliate Chapter Memberships. Total subscriptions have gone from nearly 2000 copies in 1999 to 642 today. Affiliate Chapters are asked to promote Multiple Moments in their newsletters, websites and general meetings. Multiple Moments no longer breaks even and is now costing the organization money to produce. An increase in subscriptions of at least 50% has been deemed necessary for production of the magazine to continue unless a sponsor can be found. An Information Circular was sent via email on May 12, 2004 informing all members of this situation. This information will also be included in the June issue of Multiple Moments. All the volunteers who have contributed in any form to the writing, editing, proofing, production and distribution of Multiple Moments should be commended for their efforts and their passion in producing the magazine. With a long history of over 20 years as “the” multiple birth magazine in Canada (formerly known as Double Feature) and being the ONLY Canadian magazine on multiple births, it is an important piece of our history, as well as a valuable publication for parents and multiples alike.
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Good Beginnings Volunteer Program
Good Beginnings is a volunteer-delivered program that offers handson assistance to families who are feeling overwhelmed caring for their newborns. This program, offered in the Region of Peel, Ontario, is a partnership with Multiple Births Canada and is funded in part by the Governments of Ontario’s Early Years Challenge Fund. Parents are matched with specially trained volunteers who will visit the family each week for a minimum of three hours for parents of singleton children and six hours for parents of multiple birth children for three months. Multiple birth families are eligible to apply for this program until their multiples are 36 months old. This newly-born program has had a smooth “labour” and now has forty trained volunteers with the first volunteer-client match occurring in January 2004—a family with newborn triplets and a two-year-old toddler. Feedback from parents“The program and the volunteer have made a huge difference.” “I tell all of the other parents who have multiple birth babies how helpful this program is.” “My older children benefit also as I am able to give them one-to-one attention when the volunteer is here.”
V@O Volunteer Training Web Site
Multiple Births Canada, in partnership with Perinatal Bereavement Services of Ontario (PBSO), received funding in April 2002 to develop web sites, specific to each of our organizations, which will provide orientation and training to volunteers through a video streaming web site and an interactive discussion area. The Orientation, Training and Discussion Forum areas are complete and ready for final evaluation at the 2004 Multiple Births Canada Annual General Meeting and Conference. The three Volunteer Training sites will be merged with the new MBC web site for easier navigation by our new and experienced volunteers. The MBC video streaming web sites are: · Personal enough to make volunteers feel like that they belong to a dynamic organization. · User friendly enough to be managed by an individual (Volunteer Coordinator) in the home office. · Simple enough that the average individual with minimal computer e-mail skills and equipment could utilize it. · Accessible enough to accommodate the potential volunteer’s time schedule. · Interactive enough to allow assessment of volunteer readiness. At the end of the orientation a volunteer will be aware of the scope of the volunteer opportunities within MBC and feel a connection to the organization. At the end of the training a volunteer will have a clear understanding of the expectations of their volunteer role and feel confident in their understanding of the “support“ role, based on the knowledge of basic caring, group dynamics and the listening theory. “I found it (the site) to be motivational and informative-makes MBC real!” “The videos and sophisticated design present MBC as a serious and effective organization.”
Volunteers are the most valuable resource of MBC!
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MBC Support Networks
Multiple Births Canada is proud of their six Support Networks: Breastfeeding, Francophone, Higher Order Multiples (HOM), Lone Parents, Loss and Special Needs. The HOM Network and the Loss Network continue to be very active, with the Breastfeeding Network just coming into its own in 2004. A Breastfeeding Support Kit is being produced to assist with this network. The Special Needs Network has recently secured a new Chair with plans of valuable fact sheets in the works. The Francophone and Lone Parents Networks continue to offer support and connections.
Transitional Plan Update
The Transitional Plan was developed in 2003 to outline the key objectives for the years 2003-2006. In each case, achieving the objectives in the three-year transition would increase the opportunities and improve MBC’s success in addressing the longer-term Business Plan that was created as a result of the Mapping the Future Project (MTF). The following outlines the activities completed over the past year that directly relate to the plans set out for Year 1 of the Transitional Plan. Not all work planned was completed, however MBC made great strides in moving forward and is proud of the work that was completed with limited resources at its disposal. After the election of a new Board of Directors in June 2004, an updated plan for Year 2 will be formulated incorporating the remaining activities from Year 1. Increasing Volunteers
· · · · Director of Volunteer Management appointed Recruitment began for a Volunteer Coordinator along with additional volunteers to meet MBC’s needs A Volunteer Database was developed The primary focus this year in the area of volunteer management was the continued development of the V@O Volunteer Orientation, Training and Discussion Forums web sites
Increase Membership
· · · · · · · · Further developments were made to the current Membership Database to help track memberships for both renewing and non-renewing The MTF Stakeholder package was developed to increase the awareness of MBC in the professional community Media and print contacts were collected for future announcements and promotion of MBC A media blitz and a mini speaking tour resulted from the Trillium Foundation funding for the 2004 Conference to promote the Conference and MBC in communities in Northern Ontario E-commerce to receive membership fees was established on the MBC web site Applied unsuccessfully to Trillium Foundation and Bell Canada twice for funding The 2004 Conference Committee was successful in obtaining funding through Trillium Foundation Promotion of membership, publications and other resources continued through Multiple Moments, the national web site, Information Circulars (ICs) and various other methods E-commerce was established for membership and publications Webcanvas.ca was hired; the web designer also volunteered the majority of his services throughout the year maintaining and updating the original site National web site is nearing completion and will be launched in June of 2004 The addition of the Training, Orientation and Discussion Forums sites are also planned for June 2004 Some additional new content has been incorporated with plans for more being developed E-commerce functioning and beginning to be profitable A new contract was established with the current Business Services Manager (BSM) including an increase in honorarium and time required in the office Trillium Foundation funding which included possible funds for office assistance was rejected A student assisted the BSM when possible with administrative tasks, research and large mailings A database was created of the existing national discounts and potential companies to be contacted in the future Photograph by Rob Provencher, Westmount Photography, Sudbury, ON 4
Increase Revenue Generation
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Create a New National Web Site
· · · · · · · · ·
Enhancing our National Office
How Multiple Births Canada Has Made A Difference
Have you ever wondered how you could make a difference in some else’s life, for the better? It wasn’t that long ago that a group of ladies sat around a table and wondered that very thought. How could they—only a few people—make a difference and aide parents of multiples in raising their children to the best of their ability. To bring forth not only locally and provincially but all the way to a national level, the awareness that is so desperately needed—Parents of multiple births indeed have unique needs and require access to resources that may not be readily available. That these parents’ needs are not only emotional and physical, but financial as well. That group of people took that thought and made it happen. My mother, Sheryl McInnes, was one of those women. I remember as a child, the dedication, love, drive she exhibited towards POMBA The hours she spent researching, writing articles, filing, and days that would blend together into months and then years as she watched their dream become a reality. Today I sit on the Board of Directors and I wonder how she managed to raise five children which included my twin sister and I, be a wife, and take POMBA to the level that she did—to bring about the awareness to all parts of Canada and internationally. There are times when I struggle to raise my children, work, and be a wife, never mind anything else. She had a vision and brought it to reality. She made a difference in many people’s lives, for the better. So no matter how rough the road, how bumpy the ride, remember, dreams do happen and we can make a difference! I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those volunteers whom dedicate their time to continue to take Multiple Births Canada to the next level. I would like to thank the chapters whom offer local support to all the parents who may not have the ability to contact MBC directly. If my mom could see how dedicated all of you are, she would be proud and amazed at how all of you have kept the dream alive and continue to make a difference in people’s lives everywhere. Thank you from my mom and from me for keeping her dream alive. Sincerely,
Making A Difference Awards
Lisa J. McInnes Director of Information Management
The Making A Difference Awards were founded in 1999 in memory of Sheryl McInnes. The awards were established to acknowledge outstanding contributions and achievements within the multiple birth community. These awards are to celebrate those who have demonstrated excellence or exceptional dedication. At the 2003 Conference, we celebrated the following winners of the 2002 Making A Difference Awards: Gail Moore - Local Category Dr. Jon Barrett - National Category Dr. Louis Keith - International Category Congratulations to these deserving winners who are truly worthy of this volunteer recognition initiative. Do you know someone deserving of this award? Nominate someone special who is making a difference!
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Financial Report
Multiple Births Canada still struggles to find new sources of revenue to help support its programs and services. Although being turned down by the Trillium Foundation, volunteers have been in contact with staff at Trillium and are discussing ways our project can better meet their criteria. As well, it is the intention of the Board to revisit our requirements for obtaining Charitable Status in the upcoming year, opening some funding doors not previously available to us. Overall, MBC continues to manage its day-to-day operations, services and supports on a very tight budget. This is a direct result of the generous support in volunteer hours, resources and chapter services. Without the dedication and support of a large network of volunteers, MBC could not meet the needs of multiple-birth families nationwide. The long term goals of the organization is to increase funding levels to a point where we can sustain all necessary services, including salaried staff running the business operations and other essential services.
Statement of Revenues and Expenses and Surplus Year Ending March 31, 2004
(Not reviewed by Bennet Gold)
MBC/NmC 2004 Actual Budget
16827 6320 5129 1201 221 125 1151 4 16000 8000 5000 1800 450 100
MBC 2003 Actual
14416 7999 3986 1513 184 61 50 5
MBC 2002 Actual
10672 9693 6013 1233 1104 598 125 49 10564
REVENUES
Memberships Subscriptions Publications/Resources Advertising Fundraising & Conference Donations Misc HOM Network Book Fund Interest Conference 2001 Revenue
Total Revenue EXPENSES
Business Office Publications Conference Expenses Board Conference/Interim Meetings Misc Board of Directors ISTS Congress Networks Service Charges Legal & Accounting Insurance
30978
13101 12014 1000 1377 40 438 161 968 504 298 1155
31350
12190 13325 2900 800 450 135 200 175 275 900
28214
13900 9120 1868 2669 1318 199 131 341 169 268
40051
13663 12727 8975 2521 1415 376 191 100 53
Total Expenses
Excess if revenues over expenses/ (expenses over revenues)
31056
(78) 6444 -
31350
29983
(1769) 8213
40021
30 8183
Surplus, beginning of year
Surplus, end of year
6366
6444
8213
“MBC is the backbone of the Canadian multiple birth community - and we all know, we couldn't make it if we didn't have a backbone! Thanks MBC for being there for all of us.”
Lynda P. Haddon, member of MBC and 21+ years of the Ottawa Chapter, a past president locally and nationally, proud Mom of three University daughters, including dizygotic twin girls. 6
Board of Directors
Carrie Johnston, Chair Director of Finance, Treasurer Director of Membership Victoria, BC Lisa McInnes Director of Information Management Edmonton, AB Tracey Ruiz Director at Large Brampton, ON Cheryl Wadasinghe Director of Research Nepean, ON Kim Weatherall, Vice-Chair Director of Volunteer Management Acting Director of Funding Orleans, ON
Advisory Board
Dr. Fiona Bamforth, MSc, FRCPC, University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton, AB Dr. Cathy Barr, PhD., Director of Research, Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, Guelph, ON Dr. Jon Barrett, MBBch, M.D., MRCOG, FRCS(C), Sunnybrook & Women’s College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON Dr. Alan Bocking, Acting Chair/Chief, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, U of WO, London, ON Dr. Elizabeth Bryan, M.D., FRCP, DCH Medical Consultant to Multiple Births Foundation, PastPresident of the International Society for Twin Studies, London, UK Justine Espenant, former Executive Director, Infertility Awareness Association of Canada, Ottawa, ON Dr. K.L. Jang, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UBC, Vancouver, BC Dr. Louis Keith, M.D., Northwestern University Medical School, Co-President of the International Society for Twins Studies (UK), Chicago, IL Jean Kollantai, Founder, Center for Loss in Multiple Birth (CLIMB) Inc., Anchorage, AK Linda G. Leonard, M.S.N., R.N., Twin/Triplet Specialist, University of British Columbia, BC Patricia Malmstrom, M.A., Twin Services Consulting, Berkeley, CA Pat Preedy, PhD., Education Specialist, UK Dawn Walker, former Executive Director, Canadian Institute of Child Health (CICH), Ottawa, ON
Staff
Vicki Riley Business Services Manager Editor, Multiple Moments Wasaga Beach, ON
Support Network Chairs
Connie Barnett High Order Multiples Support Network Mississauga, ON Francesca Bell Special Needs Support Network Mississauga, ON Lynda P. Haddon Loss Support Network Breastfeeding Support Network Ottawa, ON Sheri Lockyer Lone Parents Support Network Ridgetown, ON Josée Roy Francophone Support Network Earlton, ON
Sustaining Members
Jennifer Brasch, Waterdown, ON Paula & Ron Clark, New Castle, ON Georgina Dimopoulos, Toronto, ON Donna Launslager, Waterloo, ON Bonnie L. Schultz, Gormley, ON
Many people contribute to the work of Multiple Births Canada and we gratefully acknowledge their generous support.